The Message

Proverbs 26

Fools Recycle Silliness

1We no more give honors to foolsthan pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.

2 You have as little to fear from an undeserved curseas from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.

3 A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat—and a stick for the back of fools!

4 Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool;you’ll only look foolish yourself.

5 Answer a fool in simple termsso he doesn’t get a swelled head.

6 You’re only asking for troublewhen you send a message by a fool.

7 A proverb quoted by foolsis limp as a wet noodle.

8 Putting a fool in a place of honoris like setting a mud brick on a marble column.

9 To ask a moron to quote a proverbis like putting a scalpel in the hands of a drunk.

10 Hire a fool or a drunkand you shoot yourself in the foot.

11 As a dog eats its own vomit,so fools recycle silliness.

12 See that man who thinks he’s so smart?You can expect far more from a fool than from him.

13 Loafers say, “It’s dangerous out there!Tigers are prowling the streets!”and then pull the covers back over their heads.

14 Just as a door turns on its hinges,so a lazybones turns back over in bed.

15 A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie,but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.

Like Glaze on Cracked Pottery

16 Dreamers fantasize their self-importance;they think they are smarterthan a whole college faculty.

17 You grab a mad dog by the earswhen you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business.

18-19 People who shrug off deliberate deceptions,saying, “I didn’t mean it, I was only joking,”Are worse than careless camperswho walk away from smoldering campfires.

20 When you run out of wood, the fire goes out;when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.

21 A quarrelsome person in a disputeis like kerosene thrown on a fire.

22 Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;do you want junk like that in your belly?

23 Smooth talk from an evil heartis like glaze on cracked pottery.

24-26 Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend,all the while conniving against you.When he speaks warmly to you, don’t believe him for a minute;he’s just waiting for the chance to rip you off.No matter how cunningly he conceals his malice,eventually his evil will be exposed in public.